Hello again, all.VikingLegion, the Monastery of the Yellow Rose is NDA (so as not to hamper any storytelling directions Bob Salvatore wants to pursue in future), but I've had a brief chat with Ed and can go so far as to provide the following answers to your questions:1. Correct. The monks moved into it rather than erecting the buildings in the first place. They have done (minimal) rebuilding and maintenance since.2. Intriguing concept, yes, but although the monastery has a few soaring halls, it's NOT built for any inhabitants as large as Frost Giants.3. I think you might be on to something . . .4. There's something here, too . . .Ahem. I believe my stint of broad hinting here is done. love,THO

Wow, talk about quick response time! I thought I'd have to check back in on this thread in a week or so, but here you are already.

Ah, the dreaded NDA monster rears its ugly head. But even still, you've managed to eliminate 2 of the 4 speculations, and.... semi-confirm? the other 2.

It's not perfect, but I'll take whatever I can get! Also, just knowing that RAS has this region in his target sights for future development has me excited to see what's in the pipeline. Thank you so much (and Ed of course) for your time.

After Tyr's abdication and death, what did the famous Paladins of Waterdeep such as Piergeiron, Madieron, and Texter do? Did they convert to followers of Torm? What happened to the political structure and the church of Tyr in Waterdeep?

In Forgotten Realms Adventures, Aummerglau Tistrin is the High Priestess of Sune in Ordulin, circa 1360.[...](I will suggest that he can see the future if he did name the priestess for Summer Glau, because she was only about 9 yrs old and I believe completely unknown to the world when FRA was copyrighted.)

Haha, good catch!

People never wonder How the world goes round -HelloweenAnd even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.WoodIt's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch

Also, Volo's Guide to Cormyr mentions Ildool meeting with merchants and "merchants" from places around the Inner Sea. A footnote says: "Notable among them are the city-states who dwell under the shadow of Thay. And Thay is yet another powerIldool is rumored to be overly friendly with."

City-states under the shadow of Thay? The only ones that are coming to me are Thasselen, Murbant, and so forth, in the almost-literal shadow of Thay. But they're tiny it's a long journey to Marsember. Are there port cities elsewhere around the Inner Sea which are heavily influenced behind the scenes by Thay?

Also, Volo's Guide to Cormyr mentions Ildool meeting with merchants and "merchants" from places around the Inner Sea. A footnote says: "Notable among them are the city-states who dwell under the shadow of Thay. And Thay is yet another powerIldool is rumored to be overly friendly with."City-states under the shadow of Thay?

I'm not Ed, of course, but... Chessenta trades with Thay a lot, so probably the whole coast (minus Lutcheq) is influenced and mildly infiltrated.Also, yes, they lost some of Priador in that elemental mess.Mulmaster - the ruler married the Tharchioness of Eltabbar.Raven's Bluff - a lot of undercover Red Wizard emigrants, that's probably more counts as developed immunity.

People never wonder How the world goes round -HelloweenAnd even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.WoodIt's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch

Hello Ed and THO. I've just read the new article on the Edverse, about the various portals and connections between Toril and Earth, and -while I enjoy the concept- there's something that puzzles me.

We know that in our tech can't function at all in FR and -since it is built to work around phenomena regulated by the laws of physics of our world-, barring other factors, I suppose that it is because the laws of physics there are different*. But, considering that the laws that govern the nature and our minds and bodies here are the same rules that govern the functionality of the tech we produce, how would that affect people and creatures traveling between worlds?

I mean, for example, if in FR electricity doesn't work how it does in our world (because our electricity based-tech doesn't work there), then why/how would our nerve impulse transmission work there (and vice versa, how would the nerve impulse transmission of -say- a wyvern would work here)?

So, my question is, how would this be explained? Are the laws of nature in the FR actually different from ours in some of their aspects (like with electricity behaving in a way that we would find strange), or is there some kind of permanet field around Toril that for some reason disrupts tech (and in this case, if -let's say- a field of magic renders our devices useless, how would it influence phenomena that work according to the same laws that make those devices work in our world)?

*and not only in the sense that there is magic and that means that our physics is wrong there (because it could very well still be true in the cases where magic doesn't come into play, and that is how magic works in most worlds, to my knowledge), but in the sense that even in absence of direct magic, things there don't quite happen how they would here.

It's not that electricity itself doesn't work in Realmspace, it's that electronics themselves don't work.

My theory is that it's like the Dresden Files: magic is a kind of energy field, and that energy field disrupts electronics, likely by overwhelming them and shorting them out. The amount of magic in the Realms is just too much for electronics, which often have very specific tolerances for electricity.

Living beings are better able to handle that energy, sort of filtering it out.

Also, keep in mind that the electrical processes in electronic devices are not the same as within living bodies. In electronics, once the electricity is flowing, it's a constant stream flowing from the source to all the components and back. In a living creature, electricity flows from one end of a nerve to the next, where it causes the creation of particular chemicals. Those chemicals hit the next nerve, and cause it to fire -- and then it does the same thing, causing chemicals to be created which excite the next nerve. So it's an electro-chemical reaction, which is why electricity can travel at close to light speed (186,282 miles per second) in an electrical circuit, but nerve impulses in a human move at something like 300 feet per second, at max.

Also, keep in mind that the electrical processes in electronic devices are not the same as within living bodies. In electronics, once the electricity is flowing, it's a constant stream flowing from the source to all the components and back. In a living creature, electricity flows from one end of a nerve to the next, where it causes the creation of particular chemicals. Those chemicals hit the next nerve, and cause it to fire -- and then it does the same thing, causing chemicals to be created which excite the next nerve. So it's an electro-chemical reaction, which is why electricity can travel at close to light speed (186,282 miles per second) in an electrical circuit, but nerve impulses in a human move at something like 300 feet per second, at max.

Oh yes, that is true. My point was that if in FR electricity itself didn't work in the same way it works on Earth, various processes in living creatures would probably be affected as well, since they work according the same general laws.

But then, I too suppose that there is some kind of field that disrupts electricity. That could be some kind of electromagnetic field that strongly and constantly varies, but AFAIK it wouldn't be nice on living things (and it wouldn't explain why a series of phenomena that should happen in that condition, don't. For example, correct me if I'm wrong, but you would have electric current spontaneously generating in metallic objects, like armor). If it isn't an electromagnetic field, and it is just the Weave that does nasty things to tech, then I'm curious to know if Ed has thought about how something like that would work (like, if it overloads circuits, how does it distinguish between ''circuit'' and generic piece of conductor material, because metals seem to be largely unaffected?).

Another question, sprung by a recent review of Ed's upcoming novel, Spellstorm.

SPOILERS (beige text)

So, in the book there's a passage saying that

quote:[...]Twas no easy thing, being the goddess of magic. A different deity than the rest, in a world so steeped in the Art, a divinity that had to care more for mortals, or embrace utter tyranny. And at the same time share the Weave - the Weave that was Mystra, as well as being so much more - with other deities, or what remained of them, like Eilistraee[...]

As a huge fan of Eilistraee, seeing this makes me very excited. Does that thought refer to the ''present'' time? If so, it would mean that Eilistraee is alive and -if you can share- I have some questions about that. Like, are Eilistraee and Vhaeraun separated again? Did she manage to survive to the events in LP like some speculated (in a fashion similar to how Mystra did, for example) and emerge again after the Sundering (or has the Sundering simply brought her back)? Also, in what condition is Eilistraee now, and what are she and her followers doing (and -since I'd like to edit the FR wiki page about her- is she now a demipower, or retained her status of lesser power)? Finally, where is Qilué's soul currently (since we know that the Cescent Blade couldn't destroy souls anymore, given that Cavatina survived it).

Sorry about the cascade of questions, but I really can't help it, since Eilistraee means a lot to me and I would be overjoyed with the news of her being alive.

Also, keep in mind that the electrical processes in electronic devices are not the same as within living bodies. In electronics, once the electricity is flowing, it's a constant stream flowing from the source to all the components and back. In a living creature, electricity flows from one end of a nerve to the next, where it causes the creation of particular chemicals. Those chemicals hit the next nerve, and cause it to fire -- and then it does the same thing, causing chemicals to be created which excite the next nerve. So it's an electro-chemical reaction, which is why electricity can travel at close to light speed (186,282 miles per second) in an electrical circuit, but nerve impulses in a human move at something like 300 feet per second, at max.

Oh yes, that is true. My point was that if in FR electricity itself didn't work in the same way it works on Earth, various processes in living creatures would probably be affected as well, since they work according the same general laws.

But then, I too suppose that there is some kind of field that disrupts electricity. That could be some kind of electromagnetic field that strongly and constantly varies, but AFAIK it wouldn't be nice on living things (and it wouldn't explain why a series of phenomena that should happen in that condition, don't. For example, correct me if I'm wrong, but you would have electric current spontaneously generating in metallic objects, like armor). If it isn't an electromagnetic field, and it is just the Weave that does nasty things to tech, then I'm curious to know if Ed has thought about how something like that would work (like, if it overloads circuits, how does it distinguish between ''circuit'' and generic piece of conductor material, because metals seem to be largely unaffected?).

In these instances, I always like noting that:-

As the Old Grey Box states:- "The physics of the Realms are slightly out of sync with the rest of the planes, so that gunpowder and many technological devices which operate on electronics do not function. Equivalent devices may be developed by player-characters. DM’s judgment is advised as to what may be allowed into the world." [DM's Sourcebook of the Realms pg. 9]

It's not that electricity itself doesn't work in Realmspace, it's that electronics themselves don't work.

My theory is that it's like the Dresden Files: magic is a kind of energy field, and that energy field disrupts electronics, likely by overwhelming them and shorting them out. The amount of magic in the Realms is just too much for electronics, which often have very specific tolerances for electricity.

Butting in for one second on this note, but for those who want some great urban fantasy books to read that touch on this sort of thing, go check out Ben Aaronovitch's RIVERS OF LONDON series (it's up to 5 books, first of which is Midnight Riot); imagine if Dumbledore were a senior police inspector and his new apprentice is a policeman first and wizard second. Much of the intersection of the weird & magical with the mundane world & electronics makes for fascinating ways to think about this stuff without as much hand-waving the problems away.

And to make this slightly more about the Realms, I'd hazard to speculate that Khelben's favorite hobby that related to our world was reading from and trying to make Nikola Tesla's inventions & patents work in the Realms (but alas, they won't....not to say they don't make interesting experiments deep within the bowels of Blackstaff Tower that may yet be there gathering dust more than 100 years after his passing).

It's not that electricity itself doesn't work in Realmspace, it's that electronics themselves don't work.

My theory is that it's like the Dresden Files: magic is a kind of energy field, and that energy field disrupts electronics, likely by overwhelming them and shorting them out. The amount of magic in the Realms is just too much for electronics, which often have very specific tolerances for electricity.

Just to play devils advocate: Would electronics work within the confines of a dead magic zone?

If magic overloaded electronic devices, then they would be destroyed as soon as entering Toril, like with a big EMP. I wonder what would happen if you preemptively prepared an AM field to protect them from the magical EMP (if overloading is the way it works). But then, the quote from the OGB posted by The Sage, implies that the physics in the Realms don't quite work like ours, so our tech would hardly function there anyway (since it is based on our physics).

Hello again, all.I've been ferrying your posts to Ed in the usual manner, and he's been quiet recently because he's been so busy with looking after his wife and attending Ad Astra and writing books and designing games (including a stint of seven short stories in eight days last month, folks!), but he's starting to reply now, and here we go...

Regarding our tech in the Realms:Our bodies, and our tools, work ESSENTIALLY the same on Earth and on Toril. The difference is the presence of magic - - the Weave, the fluctuating and varying "background" magic of place (the faerzress, nodes, et al) on Toril that by and large doesn't exist on Earth. What that means for our electronics is: they go haywire.Imagine, for the sake of clumsy metaphor, localized centers of gravity (or magnetism, if that's easier to visualize), so that "down" is the nearest fire hydrant or lamppost, and there's another, stronger "down" eight mailboxes away. And another, and another, and so on, and some of these centers of gravity/magnetism move around, and many of them fluctuate in strength/power/attraction.All of that causes most of our electrical devices to short out or just not work, because the flows of electricity they depend on are warped (bent) and disrupted, EVEN WITHIN A TINY INTEGRATED CIRCUIT. If you never turn a device on/trigger it, and carry it around on Toril and then bring it back to Earth, it may be entirely unaffected. If you try to use it on Toril, it might work (briefly), simply not function ("dead"), or short out (sparks, brief hum or whirr or shriek, then permanently dead).But a club is still a club, electricity still conducts through our bodies in the way we are familiar with on Earth, and so on. It's just that magic (especially spells cast, or already operating like an extant field) can cause ANYTHING to happen - - but not necessarily reliably, when in combination with "Earth-tech."By and large, complicate devices from Earth won't function correctly. Substances that normally ignite (gunpowder) usually don't (but an equivalent can be developed, and was, so the Realms has "smokepowder"). Magical potions usually work the same on Earth and Toril, but non-magical concoctions may or may not work (and there's only one way to find out). Usually a poison in one place is also a poison in the other. But not always...Yep, clear as mud. Sorry.(But not too sorry. I want someone planning to invade Toril with a high-tech-armed Earth army to worry, not be rightfully confident.)Hope this helps!

Yes, that refers to the present time.Yes, separate again.Mortals know only of a reappearance, post-Sundering; details to be revealed, perhaps, in the fullness of time.Current condition? Unknown to mortals (including power level/ranking); sorry. As for the soul you mention: also known. My bet would be on "a voice in the Weave" (there may or may not be more on this status, if not that particular soul, in future fiction, but it's too early to say for certain).Much must remain mysterious - - but then again, that's life. For us all.

Clegane, here's Ed's response to your query: "After Tyr's abdication and death, what did the famous Paladins of Waterdeep such as Piergeiron, Madieron, and Texter do? Did they convert to followers of Torm? What happened to the political structure and the church of Tyr in Waterdeep?"

They continued on, renewing their dedication to what Tyr stood for: justice, law and order, equal treatment under the law, peace for the greatest good for all. The Church believed that what happened to Tyr - - and of course there was some debate about what actually HAD happened to Tyr; how reliable was what mortals heard - - happened for good reasons embraced by Tyr. The task of the Church was to pray for guidance and seek mortal and divine wisdom to try to understand what had truly happened, why (as in: why did Tyr behave as he had? What was His ultimate aim?), and therefore what the mortal followers of Tyr should do.And now, post-Sundering, Tyr has returned, and their staunch and steadfast loyalty has either borne fruit or been seen as passing Tyr's test - - or both.

So saith Ed. Who may have more to say about this in future, if the RIGHT opportunity arises.love,THO

Hi again, all. Back in mid-March, Marco Volo posted: "I was wandering if Ed could share with us some lore about Dragon Coast climate and weather."

Certainly. The Dragon Coast is cool temperate, so...warm-ish during the three months following Mirtul, cool the rest of the year, and ice that ships can't readily break through freezes up the ports from sometime in December (when depends on severity of that winter) to very early Mirtul (again, varies) every year.It is always breezy and damp, which means morning and night fogs, frequent but brief storms, and occasional brief hard-blowing gales ("line squalls," in nautical parlance). Suzail, Saerloon, Selgaunt, Marsember, and Westgate, for example, all get snow in winter and frequent fogs or ice fogs. Marsember happens to get rain a LOT of the time, whereas Suzail and Westgate and Selgaunt tend to get very short rains, especially in mid-afternoon and in mornings before dawn or over "dawntime," but the windy weather means the clouds "blow through" and the rain ends and is replaced by moving cloud cover that often clears just before sunset and affords a clear sky evening, that then fogs in again after midnight and so allows frosts on rooftops and spires, but protects plants at ground level from killing frosts. Most coastal settlements have cobbled streets just to minimize what would otherwise be nigh-constant mud.Marsember is an always-damp place, dominated by mildew and with a non-windy localized microclimate, but all of the other coastal settlements in the area are breezy at the best of times, and windy much of the time (no one in Suzail wears silly hats that don't come with chin-straps or ties).Hope this is of help.

So saith Ed. Who really does think of all of this stuff. I personally know he had details of the climate of this region nailed down back in 1978.love,THO

Thanks so much for both the replies, Ed ans THO, they really made my day

I would just like one more clarification, if that was possible, about ''Mortals know only of a reappearance, post-Sundering; details to be revealed, perhaps, in the fullness of time.''

(beige text) Does that mean that Eilistraee has appeared to mortals post-Sundering, or that they just generally know that she has returned (and that -for example- they know that because the she has sent them dreams or visions to ''inform'' them)? Are the Dark Dancer's followers aware of her being alive? Also -if it can be said- is Vhaeraun alive too?

Communications being what they are in the Realms, with caravans bringing news and gossip and inevitable distortions as things get told and retold, most mortals can't be certain of much; they always have to trust (or not trust) retellings from afar.However, the word spreading about the return of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun comes from excited reports of mortal worshippers personally meeting MANIFESTATIONS and AVATARS of the deities; i.e. yes, Vhaeraun and Eilistraee are both "back."Now, as to whether they'll appear face to face with a given mortal in a given location in the Realms, that's a far different matter. The gods in general seem more "distant" post-Sundering, more "heard from" than "personally seen."